Nick Ashford
Singer/Songwriter
1942 – 2011
Nick Ashford, who along with wife Valerie Simpson helped set the gold standard for R&B duets, both as songwriters and performers, died of throat cancer Monday, August 22, 2011 in a New York hospital.
The songwriting team penned and produced almost all of the ’60s hits for Motown’s Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, including Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, You’re All I Need to Get By, Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing and Your Precious Love. They also wrote hits for Chuck Jackson, The Shirelles, Maxine Brown and the Fifth Dimension.
The two performed together as “Valerie and Nick” in 1964 but really didn’t score any major hits as performers until the 70s and 80s.
He was 69 years young.
